Dovecote

The Dovecote had recently been refurbished.

The manager sent us updated photos. The property is very impressive. The beds were incredibly comfortable. The grounds are immaculate. It is in a remote location, and there is plenty of wildlife around, though we weren't lucky enough to see the deer. There are plenty of attractions to visit within an hour's drive too. Now, a few negatives: the hot tub stopped working the day after we arrived. The staff responded quickly and fixed the issue within 2 days. They also gave us a gift as compensation, which was lovely. The second issue was the electric cooker. During cooking we overloaded the fuse by having the grill, oven and 3 hobs on. This required another call to the office. Again, the staff responded immediately and replaced the fuse, but it went again. As well as replacing the fuse, Jess from the staff bought us a breakfast. How fantastic! They have assured us this will be checked by an electrician. Some suggestions for the provided info: there were no safety instructions for the hot tub, though these are referenced in the main booklet. An instruction on needing to set the oven clock before the cooker can be used. A tin opener should be added to the provided cutlery. Overall a fantastic stay, and just a couple of niggles.

No customer service 5 left messages on help number only 1 responded yet all responsible people were on site but we were unaware of this Doors to wardrobe blocked by bed only 1 towel per person Heated towel rail not working conection wrapped in black tape .

Hot tub cold on first day.Large window on French window entranced repaired with black tape. no safety instructions on operation of hot tub when finally had contact with the manager as we were leaving only lame excuses were on offer. In view of the above I am most concerned with regard to my October booking

Dovecote would have been a lovely place to stay probably a decade ago.

It is unfortunately now run down and shabby looking. Overall it radiates a lack of love injected into it, with no ornaments, pictures on the wall, tired looking decor...etc. The building itself and the surroundings are lovely, in a lovely location. We read the reviews, but because they were last years reviews, we hoped there would have been an improvement, and also we know that it is a personal preference and standards that lead to certain reviews. With a hindsight we wish we listemed to those reviews. Our first impression on arrival was the lovely oak front door, with its window pannel taped with a duck tape, that has clearly been there ages, as it is coming off. The kitchen is a bit dated, with a mish mash, dated equipment. It wouldn't cost much to get some decent crockery and cutlery, couple of nice mugs, cereal bowls, couple of nice pots and pans... The inside of the cupboards were not all that clean either. It would have helped to be provided with a dish cloth ( we bought it ourselves and used well!) The toilet seat was loose and came off couple of times. The bathroom on the whole was not all that clean, and shabby looking. There was a strong smell of drain in the bathroom and we pulled out a nasty clump of hair from the shower drain.... We were provided with blue, old looking towels. There is no wifi at the Dovecote, with poor satellite signal , so not a chance to watch a bit of TV without it glitching. The mattrace in the main bedrrom felt it had a dip, perhaps in need of replacing. The hot tub is nice touch but we felt like we needed to have a good shower aftetwards as the water didn't look all that clean. It did say to bring your own hairdryer, but it would not cost much to provide a small one, as well as soap for the bathroom. Perhaps some books, games and a folder with ideas and recomendations for trips would have make a difference? . A guess book to leave a message was not there either. The cottage really needs an investment to bring it up to standard. It lacks the cosiness and and comfort. And it is such a shame, as it is such a lovely building, it just needs the love that it deserves. We paid for 4 night stay but stayed only 3 nights, we felt it was enough here..